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How to Self-Host Your Blogs with WordPress.org

The self-hosted WordPress.org software lets you run an unlimited number of blogs on one installation of its software platform, on one domain. When you configure the Network options within WordPress to enable a Multisite interface, you become administrator of a network of blogs. All of the options remain the same, but with the Multisite options you can add additional blogs and domains and allow registered users of your Web site to host their own blog within your network, as well.

The self-installed version from WordPress.org requires you to download the software from the WordPress Web site and install it on a Web server. You can self-host it, but unless you own your own Web server, you need to lease one or lease space on one.

Hosting generally isn’t free. That being said, Web hosting doesn’t cost a whole lot, either. You can usually obtain a good Web hosting service for anywhere from $5 to $10 per month.

You need to make sure, however, that any Web host you choose to work with has the required software installed on the Web server. Currently, the minimum software requirements for WordPress include

  • PHP version 4.3 or greater

  • MySQL version 4.0 or greater

After you have WordPress installed on your Web server, you can start using it to blog to your heart’s content. With the WordPress software, you can install several plugins that extend the functionality of the blogging system.

You also have full control of the core files and code that WordPress is built on. So if you have a knack for PHP and knowledge of MySQL, you can work within the code to make changes that you think would be good for you and your blog.

You don’t need design ability to make your blog look great. Members of the WordPress community have created more than 1,600 WordPress themes (designs), and you can download them for free and install them on your WordPress blog. Additionally, if you’re creatively inclined, like to create designs on your own, and know Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), you have full access to the template system within WordPress and can create your own custom themes.

What types of sites use the Multisite options within WordPress?

  • Blog networks, which can have more than 150 blogs. The popular electronics retail store, Best Buy, uses WordPress to power 1,050 local store blogs.

  • Newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, and universities such as Harvard Law School that currently use WordPress to manage the blog sections of their Web sites.

  • Niche-specific blog networks, such as Edublogs.org, that use WordPress to manage their full networks of free blogs for teachers, educators, lecturers, librarians, and other education professionals.

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